A St. Louis-based Southwest agent was charged with theft after an internal investigation found evidence he printed off fake travel vouchers for personal use and for a profit
A Southwest Airlines employee who told police he printed off nearly $80,000 worth of travel vouchers has been charged with stealing.
Brooklyn Jones, a customer service agent at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, had been printing flight vouchers using previous passengers’ names and redeeming them for himself, an internal Southwest investigation found, according to the complaint, obtained by USA TODAY on Friday.
Records show that Jones confessed to the allegations in a written statement to Southwest and agreed to return the vouchers he had, but he pleaded not guilty Thursday to the felony.
Jones’ attorney, Bert Fulk, said in a statement that the state is basing the allegations on a “probable cause statement that appears to rely heavily on third-party statements..”
“We look forward to the discovery process and reserve the right to comment in the future upon receipt and review of the specific discovery in this matter,” he said, declining to comment further.
Printed Southwest vouchers totaled $79,000
Southwest informed airport police of their findings after an internal investigation.
When officers took Jones to his locker, Jones turned over 119 travel vouchers to Southwest, worth a total of $36,300, the complaint says.
In interviews following his arrest, Jones said he received money for the vouchers four different times and printed vouchers totaling $79,000 between Aug. 1, 2023 and Sept. 23, 2023, according to court records.
Jones is scheduled to appear in court again on Sept. 16.
Southwest declined to comment, deferring to local law enforcement
Another Southwest employee’s similar case
Another Southwest employee, DaJuan Martin, pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge after federal prosecutors say he fraudulently created and sold company vouchers worth about $1.9 million. An indictment filed last June said Martin was working for Southwest at Midway Airport in Chicago when he used fictitious customer names to fraudulently generate the vouchers.
Martin reached a plea agreement with prosecutors last month and is set to be sentenced on Nov. 1, when he faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.